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1.31.2013

DIY Herringbone Metallic Artwork: Easy & Cheap

So I don't know if I've said this before, but my husband and I are currently building a house. Well, we're not building it (I'm not that crafty... hot glue has its limits), some nice young men we pay are building it. We are, however, among other things, funding it. Let me translate: we're broke for the next year or so. Needless to say, that scenario leaves no budget for current rental-house decor. And I thought that was fine when we first moved into this dirty white box. 7 months later, the walls are now beige (because I couldn't stand the dirty white box) and the great expanses of nothing-ness on the walls are starting to make me antsy. This is how the "Herringbone" Metallic Artwork came about. (I know it's not technically herringbone, but it kind of looks similar).

Supplies:• Metallic Paint (I used Rust-Oleum spray paint)• Some other colors of paint (I used whatever I had leftover from other projects)• Canvas or something to paint on• ScotchBlue Painter's Tape (Mine is 2" wide)

This is what I started with.

I bought this in a parking lot 8 years ago when we were first decorating our old house. It's been moved around quite a bit and now I've just outgrown it. I wrestled a little with painting over a perfectly good painting. But since I no longer find it beautiful, and it does not serve a function, it was either time to make it beautiful or get rid of it.Step1: Paint some of the canvas with the metallic paint. I tried to keep all my paint going in an up and down motion.

Step 2: Blob on some color and spread it around again. Leave unpainted areas. My 3 year old did most of this. I helped him keep it going up and down.

Step 3: Blob on some other colors and keep going.

Step 4: Pick up older child from Pre-K... wait, I mean let it dry once you're happy with the colors.Step 5: Start taping (and put on some Phineas and Ferb to keep children in trance-like state).

I started with that piece in the corner and just lined up the tape based off of that one. No real pattern, just tried to keep the spaces even between each piece. I didn't measure anything. This may require 2 episodes of Phineas and Ferb.

Step 6: Paint over the tape with the metallic paint.

Step 7: Peal off the tape (we did not wait for it to dry).

I like that you can actually see him saying "whoaaa!" in this one. They thought it was very cool how the color showed up when you pulled the tape off.

That's it, you're done. Hang it up! I put it over my dresser in our bedroom. We now have at least one thing on that giant beige wall for the cost of tape and a can of spray paint. :)

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I am thinking about entering in the Creating with the Stars and saw you submission, I. LOVE. IT. Truly you did an amazing job and I am pinning for sure...good luck! Now I will have to check out the rest of your blog!

Thanks Lauren. They always love to help. Sometimes the projects aren't too kid friendly and I have to make up ways for them to "help" but this one was perfect. Besides the tape, I think they did all of it. :)

Gorgeous! I love how you let just a teeny bit of the original artwork to shine through. I've been on the lookout at thrift stores for a similar sized painting that I can do this to since I saw this a few days ago (and yes, I'm here for a second...or third look).

Thanks! Did you notice how I didn't paint over that lady in the lower left corner? haha I liked her and I think it's cool that you can still see her. :) Let me know how it goes if you try it! I'd like to see some awful 80's painting turned into something cool!

I saw this over at East Coast Creative where they were announcing the finalists for their challenge. WooHoo! Congrats to you! This is a stunning piece of art and I'm tempted to copy you. Thanks for the inspiration. Happy to be following you ;) Good luck in the competition. Looking forward to seeing everyone's projects!

Came from TDC!1. Love this artwork2. Love how you let your kids paint it3. Love that it was cheap (and big!)4. I can't believe you didn't measure anything! Looking at it gives me the jitters bc it looks like it'd be meticulous!Pinned!

I saw this featured on facebook and I had to stop by for the tutorial. I have pinned it. I am definitely going to try something like this for our newly renovated basement. I have been looking for some cool artwork and this is cooler than anything I have come across and definitely a better price point. I am your latest follower. I host a link party each Tuesday night. Hope to have you join in sometime. http://diybydesign.blogspot.com

I tried to make my own version of this because I LOVE IT.... and it was a total fail haha. (If you are curious: http://asmithofalltrades.com/2013/04/04/knockoff-diy-herringbone-art/) Oh well! I might have to try it again because I love yours a ton. I used silver instead of gold, which was sort of boring. And I think my background was too pastel-y.

Anyway... this is amazing and I loved all your stuff in Creating with the Stars :)

Thank you so much for this idea! I didn't see where it was going with you putting the tape on AFTER your paint was dry, but you obviously saw something beautiful. I take care of a little girl and we do crafts for an hour a day (to beat the summer hum-drum), and I think she will totally love this idea and put it in her room! Thanks again, Jill

This is fantastic! It looks like you paid top dollar for it! To make DIY paintings customized for their room colors, homeowners could use the small cans of sample paint from the hardware store to make this--just an idea.

Just tried this today. I used a smaller canvas and placed sticker letters spelling "Merry & Bright" on the canvas before painting and when I peeled them off at the end the letters are white like the canvas. I used shades of red and gold. Instead of painters tape I used washi tape since my canvas was smaller. Pretty pleased with it. Thanks for the idea!

Hi Natasha. I just left the sides of the canvas the color they were from the original painting. That said, the original colors in the painting were similar to the final new painting I made. If the painting you start with is way different than what you're going for in the new one, I would suggest painting the sides of the canvas too. Hope that helps. :)

Hi. The paint was just regular old craft paint so regular old house paint should work fine too. And yes, this was a big canvas with an "oil" painting on top that we bought in a parking lot. I'm pretty sure it was more like a print of an oil painting on canvas... perfect to paint over. Check Goodwill! :)

I love ur ideas...especially this one. I have older large pictures with glass on top. U really cant remove the picture as its glued to the back of the frame. Can I do this on top of glass (to cover these old pictures)? Please help. Thank you :)

Thanks :) Hmmm, that's tough. I would say yes if you used a paint made for glass but then I'm still not confident the whole taping process wouldn't pull some of that paint off. I've never painted on glass before like this. Can you cut the old picture from the frame somehow?